Fifteen hours later, Jackie peeled herself off the uncomfortable seat and waited for the other passengers to file out of the plane in front of her. With a single bag slung across her petite body, she really had no idea where she was going. She only had his address, scrawled on the back of a receipt for shampoo.

After going through customs and exiting the terminal, she managed to find an elderly man with a truck who spoke broken English. Showing him the address, Jackie skillfully negotiated a ride into remote village where Eric was stationed. Though the circumstances were not ideal, she didn't care. She was on a mission, and that end would justify whatever means were necessary.

"Here, this is my truck," the man said, pointing to a beat-up Dodge. Though the paint was mostly gone, replaced by rusty holes in the metal exterior, Jackie looked over it thoughtfully. She could tell by the man's movements that this was his baby, the love of his life.

"Thank you again for the ride," she told him.

"Why are you here? Most people do not visit from America," he inquired.

"I'm in love, and my love is here," she answered simply.

The man smiled and nodded knowingly. "That is how I ended up here. I used to live on the other side of the continent, but I fell in love with a girl from this village while visiting on a mission trip. We've been married for fifty years."

Jackie thought this over. Fifty years was a long time, more than twice her age. She wondered what her life would be like in fifty years, if she would still feel this alive and this much in love with Eric. The man looked at the girl, obviously lost in her own thoughts, and pulled the truck onto the main road that would lead them both home. Neither of them said a word, though the drive lasted nearly a half-hour. Finally, he turned off the pavement and headed down a dirt path to where the houses were. Jackie leaned against the window, struggling to see as far ahead as she could manage.

"I see the houses!" she exclaimed excitedly.

The man laughed. "Yes, those are the huts."

As they drew closer and closer to the rows of homes, Jackie's excitement quickly turned to nervousness. The man slowed the truck down to accommodate street traffic, barefoot children crossing the street with their mothers and men standing idly on the corners, talking and laughing. "It's so alive," she commented, in awe.

"The heartbeat of Africa lies in its people. These are her people," the man noted as he pulled his truck to a stop in front of a hut. It looked like all the others around it, but Jackie knew that it was his.

"Thank you for the ride," she said through the open window of the truck once she had jumped out.

"You're welcome, my dear," the man managed. "My name is Kimbo, and my home is six down. Come see me if you need anything." With that, he was gone, and Jackie found herself outside the house, peering through the window at Eric. He was on the telephone and she could hear his voice.

"Where is she? I've been calling all day, Fez. I'm really worried, she wouldn't just take off like that without telling me," Eric nearly yelled into the receiver.

Jackie watched him listen to Fez's answer on the other end of the line. Eric shook his head and covered his face. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Hold on, Fez. I have to get the door."

Smoothing her hair, she waited a few second until Eric, with a look of worry painted across his now-tanned face, opened the door. "Jackie!"

"Hi, Eric," she replied shyly.

"Oh, thank God!" he murmured as he drew her into his arms. Pulling back slightly, he looked into her deep brown eyes. He wanted to lean down and kiss her more than anything, but he didn't feel like it was the right time.

"Glad to see me?"

He only nodded as he took her bag and brought her into the hut. Jackie cocked her head and smiled at him, amazed at how much he had changed. He was more muscular now and definitely tanner, Africa had agreed with him. She reached for his hand and entangled it in hers, intricately weaving their fingers together, as she led him across the room. She picked up the receiver and said, "I'm fine."

With that, she hung up. Eric burst out laughing, amazed by her simple audacity. "You came."

"I had to see you," she told him. "I want to be happy, Eric. You're the only thing that makes me happy."

"You came to Africa. You came to Africa for me."

"For us, we need to see where this is going, and the only way we can do that is if we are together," she explained. "I was at the Hub with Donna and Steven and the rest of our friends, and I realized that I felt so lonely because you weren't there. All the things that used to matter pale in comparison to what I've found with you. And I know it's fast and that it barely makes sense, but somehow, it feels right."

This time, when he looked down at her, he knew that the time was right. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and pulled her tight to his body. Leaning down, he captured her ruby-red lips into a sweet, gentle kiss. Pressing herself further into him, she deepened the kiss until they were both breathless. "Thank you," he said.

She just smiled. "Why don't you show me around this Africa place? I've heard it's pretty amazing."

They spent the remainder of the day walking through the village. Along the way, they encountered some of Eric's students, who were excited to meet another American. They looked through the village's market, carefully selecting food to eat for their dinner. And once the sun had given way to the moon, they spent the evening cooking, talking and listening to records. They stayed up all night, confessing every emotion and secret that they had kept from each other. And when Jackie's exhaustion finally consumed her, she fell asleep in Eric's arms for the first time. Everything was perfect.

But, in the morning's light, things seemed somewhat different. She was still in his arms when she woke up, and it was only then that she realized that they were going to have to explain themselves at some point. She felt him shift beneath her as she turned to meet his gaze.

"We have to tell them, Eric."

"I know."

"They won't understand."

"How could they?"

"I don't care if they do. This is right."

"But we still have to tell them."

"Yes."

"Does anyone know?"

"Only Fez. We have to tell Steven and Donna."

"Those relationships are over, it shouldn't matter."

"It shouldn't, but we both know that it will. At one point, I thought I would marry Steven, and you almost married Donna. No matter how much we pretend that there still aren't feelings there, we both know that there are. We loved them deeply, that sort of thing just doesn't go away."

"No, but they change. And they have changed. I just want this to be okay for you. I can handle them being angry at me, but I don't want it to hurt you."

'"As long as I have you and we're honest with them, that is all I care about. I don't want to lose their friendships, but this, us, is my priority now. But I don't know how we're going to tell them if they're there and we're here. It's not exactly something I want to do over the phone."

"Well, actually, I have something to tell you," he said. "I got permission to cut my tenure here short. I wanted to come home to be with you. I'm out of here next week."

"Eric! Were you even going to tell me?" she asked.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, but it looks like you beat me to the punch," he retorted as he kissed her temple. "Anyhow, we'll tell them then. No one knows that I'm coming home except my parents."

"Okay, there's our plan."

"And until then, we have 10 days of just you and me, in Africa, where no one knows or cares about our past. We can just be us here."

Turning over to kiss him, she murmured, "That sounds nice."

"Hey, Jackie, I-" Eric began. The words became caught in his throat. It had to be too soon to tell her that he loved her, he thought to himself. He didn't want to scare her.

"Yeah?"

"I'm happy you're here."